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In general terms, we follow Microsoft guidelines for terminology, as detailed in:
Microsoft® Computer Dictionary, Fifth Edition (Microsoft Press, 05/01/2002).
This establishes basic meanings, spellings and wordforms.

Unfortunately, this has not been updated for more than five years although MicroSoft (MS) terminology changes almost as often as they issue software patches.

More recent glossaries can be accessed through http://www.microsoft.com/resources/glossary/default.mspx.

Some exceptions are noted below:

We use ie. (NOT i.e.) for "that is", and eg. (NOT e.g.) "for example". This violates Microsoft documentation standards, but we like to live dangerously.

We also use etc. as an abbreviation for "et cetera" (it means "and so on"). Curiously, this also violates MS standards, but you'll find many examples of this in their software and documentation.

Like MS, we use both "System tray" and "Notification area" as the name of the right-hand section of the Taskbar that normally includes the clock. (If anyone's actually interested, there's a whole debate about it [here].)

<html><head><title>Rules</title> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="GemX TexNotes Pro 4.3"></head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" leftmargin=5 topmargin=5 rightmargin=5 bottommargin=5>

Overcoming blocks

Rules are always controversial. But all writers need these things to cling to.

The following rules make a good litmus test. In general, if you can understand how these sentences break the very rules they promote, most of the material Phnote> will be familiar to you.

The point of many of these sentences is very hard to understand for those who use English as their second language, but mostly obvious to educated natives.

Writer's Rules, OK ?

These rules are normally attributed to William Safire, "the most widely read writer on the English language".

01. Remember to never split an infinitive.

02. The passive voice should never be used.

03. Do not put statements in the negative form.

04. Verbs have to agree with their subjects.

05. Proofread carefully to see if you words out.

06. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

07. A writer must not shift your point of view.

08. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

09. Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)

10. Don't overuse exclamation marks !!

11. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.

12. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.

13. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.

14. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.

15. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

16. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.

17. Always pick on the correct idiom.

18.The adverb always follows the verb.

19. Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague; seek viable alternatives.

Life

Unfortunately, life and writing are seldom simple, and despite its obvious brilliance, (7,12,17 in particular) Safire's list has attracted some criticism.

4 is particularly controversial, 5 & 6 might be combined, 9 could be "improved" by putting the period outside the bracket, etc.

Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.

*

Avoid anoying alliteration.

*

Don't verb nouns.

*

Don't use no double negatives.

*

Make each pronoun agree with their antecedent.

*

When dangling, watch your participles.

*

Don't use commas, which aren't necessary.

*

Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

*

About those sentence fragments.

*

Try to not ever split infinitives.

*

Its important to use apostrophe's correctly.

*

Always read what you have written to see if you've any words out.

*

Correct spelling is esential.

*

Proofread you writing.

*

Between you and I, case is important.

*

Verbs has to agree with their antecedents.

George Orwell

George Orwell 1946 reckoned that writers "need rules to rely on when instinct fails". He proposed the following rules. (Slightly modernized here.)

1. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

2. If you can cut a word out, always cut it out.

3. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

4. Never use a foreign phrase or jargon if there is an everyday English equivalent.

5. Never use a metaphor that has become a cliché from overuse.

6. Break any rule rather than say anything outright barbarous.

Mark Twain

Mark Twain wrote (in a letter):

"I notice you use plain simple, language, short words, and brief sentences. That is the way to write English."

Fumble-rules

William Safire, winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, joined The New York Times in April 1973 as a political columnist. He also writes a Sunday column, "On Language," which has appeared in The New York Times Magazine since 1979. This column on grammar, usage, and etymology has led to the publication of 10 books and made him the most widely read writer on the English language.

This list was originally compiled by George L. Trigg et. al. The Writing Center got this copy from ILS 3, who took it from Optics News Vol. 8: No. 1, which had reprinted it from Phys. Rev. Lett. 42:748 (1979).

1. Make sure each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.

2. Just between you and I, the case of pronouns is important.

3. Watch out for irregular verbs which have crope into English.

4. Verbs has to agree in number with their subjects.

5. Don't use no double negatives.

6. Being bad grammar, a writer should not use dangling modifiers.

7. Join clauses good like a conjunction should.

8. A writer must not shift your point of view.

9. About sentence fragments.

10. Don't use run-on sentences you got to punctuate them.

11. In letters essays and reports use commas to separate items in a series.

12. Don't use commas, that are not necessary.

13. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.

14. Its important to use apostrophes right in everybodys writing.

15. Don't abbrev.

16. Check to see if you any words out.

17. In the case of a report, check to see that jargonwise, it's A-OK.

18. As far as incomplete constructions, they are wrong.

19. About repetition, the repetition of a word might be real effective repetition—take, for instance the repetition of Abraham Lincoln.

20. In my opinion, I think that an author when he is writing should definitely not get into the habit of making use of too many unnecessary words that he does not really need in order to put his message across.

21. Use parallel construction not only to be concise but also clarify.

22. It behooves us all to avoid archaic expressions.

23. Mixed metaphors are a pain in the neck and ought to be weeded out.

24. Consult the dictionery to avoid mispelings.

25. To ignorantly split an infinitive is a practice to religiously avoid.

26. Remember to hyphenate two or more word modifiers that precede the words they modify.

27. Last but not least, lay off cliches.

And one more favorite of mine that Trigg left off his list:

28. Eschew obfuscation!!

Since the 1970s at least, lists of humorous rules for writing have circulated around schools, universities, and offices. The humor depends on each rule contradicting the very advice it gives, such as "Don't use no double negatives."

As Mark Israel's FAQ states, these were written up by William Safire under the name "Fumblerules," although there is at least one earlier published source of a similar list, by science editor George L. Trigg. Below, I give details about both of those sources, and quote the original articles in full.

Note that both Trigg and Safire credit others with having collected or contributed the rules they published. Although they helped in publicizing this catchy form, neither should be considered the originator.

There are many, many variants of these lists on the World Wide Web. Some clearly began with one list or the other and added new ones as people thought of them. Others may have descended from the same "xeroxlore" that preceded both and circulated throughout campuses and offices in the 1970s. You can turn these up by searching on typical phrases like "don't use no double negatives" (which appears in both original articles) and "eschew obfuscation" (which appears in neither).

George L. Trigg "Grammar"

The following is the text of an article in the scientific journal Physics Review Letters, 19 March 1979 (Volume 42, Issue 12, pp. 747-748).

Grammar

It is said that back in the 1940's, the following message was prominently displayed at the front of the main chemistry lecture hall at a major university:

"The English language is your most versatile scientific instrument. Learn to use it with precision."

In the intervening years, the teaching of proper grammar in the public elementary and high schools fell into disfavor. The inevitable result is that manuscripts submitted to us are often full of grammatical errors, which their authors probably do not even recognize (and often would not care about if they did).

We regard this state of affairs as deplorable, and we want to do something about it. For many years we have tried to correct the grammar of papers that we publish. This is toilsome at best, and sometimes entails rather substantial rephrasing. It would obviously be preferable to have authors use correct grammar in the first place. The problem is how to get them to do it.

One fairly effective way is to provide examples of what not to do; it is particularly helpful if the examples are humorous. We have recently seen several lists of grammatical examples of this type. A few weeks ago we found taped to a colleague's office door the most complete one we have seen. (He tells us it was passed out in a class of Darthmouth - not in English - at the time a term paper was assigned). We reproduce it here in the hope that it will have some effect.

1. Make sure each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.

2. Just between you and I, the case of pronoun is important.

3. Watch out for irregular verbs which have crope into English.

4. Verbs has to agree in number with their subjects.

5. Don't use no double negatives.

6. Being bad grammar, a writer should not use dangling modifiers.

7. Join clauses good like a conjunction should.

8. A writer must be not shift your point of view.

9. About sentence fragments.

10. Don't use run-on sentences you got to punctuate them.

11. In letters essays and reports use commas to separate items in series.

12. Don't use commas, which are not necessary.

13. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.

14. Its important to use apostrophes right in everybodys writing.

15. Don't abbrev.

16. Check to see if you any words out.

17. In the case of a report, check to see that jargonwise, it's A-OK.

18. As far as incomplete constructions, they are wrong.

19. About repetition, the repetition of a word might be real effective repetition - take, for instance the repetition of Abraham Lincoln.

20. In my opinion, I think that an author when he is writing should definitely not get into the habit of making use of too many unnecessary words that he does not really need in order to put his message across.

21. Use parallel construction not only to be concise but also clarify.

22. It behooves us all to avoid archaic expressions.

23. Mixed metaphors are a pain in the neck and ought to be weeded out.

24. Consult the dictionery to avoid mispelings.

25. To ignorantly split an infinitive is a practice to religiously avoid.

26. Last but not least, lay off cliches.

The above was taken from a reprint at <a href="http://lib.ru/ANEKDOTY/orfograf.txt">http://lib.ru/ANEKDOTY/orfograf.txt</a>.

Publishing info at <a href="http://prola.aps.org/toc/PRL/v42/i12">http://prola.aps.org/toc/PRL/v42/i12</a>.

William Safire "Fumblerules"

In the same year, William Safire wrote at the end of his "On Language" column in the New York Times, on 7 October 1979:

Query:

I am compiling "Ten Perverse Rules of English Grammar." Thanks to Philip Henderson of Lawrence, Kan., I have three. They are: (1) Remember to never split an infinitive. (2) A preposition is something never to end a sentence with. (3) The passive voice should never be used.

Any others along these lines?

He followed this up a month later, on 4 November 1979, with the following "On Language" column:

The Fumblerules of Grammar

Not long ago, I advertised for perverse rules of grammar, along the lines of "Remember to never split an infinitive" and "The passive voice should never be used." The notion of making a mistake while laying down rules ("Thimk," "We Never Make Misteaks") is highly unoriginal, and it turns out that English teachers have been circulating lists of fumblerules for years.

As owner of the world's largest collection, and with thanks to scores of readers, let me pass along a bunch of these never-say-neverisms:

* Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.

* Don't use no double negatives.

* Use the semicolon properly, always use it where it is appropriate; and never where it isn't.

* Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it when its not needed.

* Do not put statements in the negative form.

* Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

* No sentence fragments.

* Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

* Avoid commas, that are not necessary.

* If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

* A writer must not shift your point of view.

* Eschew dialect, irregardless.

* And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

* Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!

* Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.

* Hyphenate between sy-

llables and avoid un-necessary hyphens.

* Write all adverbial forms correct.

* Don't use contractions in formal writing.

* Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.

* It is incumbent on us to avoid archaisms.

* If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.

* Steer clear of incorrect forms of verbs that have snuck in the language.

* Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixed metaphors.

* Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

* Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

* Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.

* If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, resist hyperbole.

* Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.

* Don't string too many prepositional phrases together unless you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

* Always pick on the correct idiom.

* "Avoid overuse of 'quotation "marks."'"

* The adverb always follows the verb.

* Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives.

Note:

</body></html>

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Like MS, we use both "System tray" and "Notification area" as the name of the right-hand section of the Taskbar that normally includes the clock. (If anyone's actually interested, there's a whole debate about it [[http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2003/09/10/54831.aspx here]].)
+<html><head><title>Rules</title>
+<meta name="GENERATOR" content="GemX TexNotes Pro 4.3"></head>
+<body bgcolor="#ffffff" leftmargin=5 topmargin=5 rightmargin=5 bottommargin=5>
+<font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial">
+<div><font size=5 color="#993300" face="Verdana">Overcoming blocks</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Rules are always controversial. But all writers need these things to cling to.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">The following rules make a good litmus test. In general, if you can understand how these sentences break the very rules they promote, most of the material Phnote&gt; will be familiar to you.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">The point of many of these sentences is very hard to understand for those who use English as their second language, but mostly obvious to educated natives.</font></div>
+<div><table width="100%" border=0 cellpadding=4 bordercolor="#000000" cellspacing=0>
+<tr valign=top>
+<td bgcolor="#ff6600"><font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial">
+<div><font size=3 color="#ffffff" face="Verdana"><b>Writer's Rules, OK ?</b></font></div>
+</font>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">These rules are normally attributed to William Safire, "the most widely read writer on the English language".</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">01. Remember to never split an infinitive.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">02. The passive voice should never be used.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">03. Do not put statements in the negative form.&nbsp;</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">04. Verbs have to agree with their subjects.&nbsp;</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">05. Proofread carefully to see if you words out.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">06. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">07. A writer must not shift your point of view.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">08. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.&nbsp;</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">09. Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">10. Don't overuse exclamation marks !!</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">11. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">12. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">13. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">14. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.&nbsp;</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">15. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">16. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">17. Always pick on the correct idiom.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">18.The adverb always follows the verb.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">19. Last but not least, avoid clich&#233;s like the plague; seek viable alternatives.</font></div>
+<div><table width="100%" border=0 cellpadding=4 bordercolor="#000000" cellspacing=0>
+<tr valign=top>
+<td bgcolor="#ffcc00"><font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial">
+<div><font size=3 color="#000000" face="Verdana"><b>Life</b></font></div>
+</font>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Unfortunately, life and writing are seldom simple, and despite its obvious brilliance, (7,12,17 in particular) Safire's list has attracted some criticism.&nbsp;</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">4 is particularly controversial, 5 &amp; 6 might be combined, 9 could be "improved" by putting the period outside the bracket, etc.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Avoid anoying alliteration.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Don't verb nouns.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Don't use no double negatives.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Make each pronoun agree with their antecedent.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">When dangling, watch your participles.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Don't use commas, which aren't necessary.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Verbs has to agree with their subjects.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">About those sentence fragments.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Try to not ever split infinitives.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Its important to use apostrophe's correctly.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Always read what you have written to see if you've any words out.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Correct spelling is esential.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Proofread you writing.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Between you and I, case is important.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">*</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Verbs has to agree with their antecedents.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><table width="100%" border=0 cellpadding=4 bordercolor="#000000" cellspacing=0>
+<tr valign=top>
+<td bgcolor="#ffcc00"><font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial">
+<div><font size=3 color="#000000" face="Verdana"><b>George Orwell</b></font></div>
+</font>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">George Orwell 1946 reckoned that writers "need rules to rely on when instinct fails". He proposed the following rules. (Slightly modernized here.)</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">1. Never use a long word where a short one will do.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">2. If you can cut a word out, always cut it out.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">3. Never use the passive where you can use the active.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">4. Never use a foreign phrase or jargon if there is an everyday English equivalent.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">5. Never use a metaphor that has become a clich&#233; from overuse.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">6. Break any rule rather than say anything outright barbarous.</font></div>
+<div><table width="100%" border=0 cellpadding=4 bordercolor="#000000" cellspacing=0>
+<tr valign=top>
+<td bgcolor="#ffcc00"><font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial">
+<div><font size=3 color="#000000" face="Verdana"><b>Mark Twain</b></font></div>
+</font>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Mark Twain wrote (in a letter):</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">"I notice you use plain simple, language, short words, and brief sentences. That is the way to write English."</font></div>
+<div><table width="100%" border=0 cellpadding=4 bordercolor="#000000" cellspacing=0>
+<tr valign=top>
+<td bgcolor="#ffcc00"><font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial">
+<div><font size=3 color="#000000" face="Verdana"><b>Fumble-rules</b></font></div>
+</font>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">William Safire, winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, joined The New York Times in April 1973 as a political columnist. He also writes a Sunday column, "On Language," which has appeared in The New York Times Magazine since 1979. This column on grammar, usage, and etymology has led to the publication of 10 books and made him the most widely read writer on the English language.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">This list was originally compiled by George L. Trigg et. al. The Writing Center got this copy from ILS 3, who took it from Optics News Vol. 8: No. 1, which had reprinted it from Phys. Rev. Lett. 42:748 (1979).</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;1. Make sure each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;2. Just between you and I, the case of pronouns is important.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;3. Watch out for irregular verbs which have crope into English.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;4. Verbs has to agree in number with their subjects.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;5. Don't use no double negatives.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;6. Being bad grammar, a writer should not use dangling modifiers.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;7. Join clauses good like a conjunction should.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;8. A writer must not shift your point of view.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;9. About sentence fragments.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 10. Don't use run-on sentences you got to punctuate them.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 11. In letters essays and reports use commas to separate items in a series.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 12. Don't use commas, that are not necessary.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 13. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 14. Its important to use apostrophes right in everybodys writing.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 15. Don't abbrev.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 16. Check to see if you any words out.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 17. In the case of a report, check to see that jargonwise, it's A-OK.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 18. As far as incomplete constructions, they are wrong.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 19. About repetition, the repetition of a word might be real effective repetition&#8212;take, for instance the repetition of Abraham Lincoln.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 20. In my opinion, I think that an author when he is writing should definitely not get into the habit of making use of too many unnecessary words that he does not really need in order to put his message across.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 21. Use parallel construction not only to be concise but also clarify.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 22. It behooves us all to avoid archaic expressions.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 23. Mixed metaphors are a pain in the neck and ought to be weeded out.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 24. Consult the dictionery to avoid mispelings.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 25. To ignorantly split an infinitive is a practice to religiously avoid.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 26. Remember to hyphenate two or more word modifiers that precede the words they modify.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 27. Last but not least, lay off cliches.&nbsp;</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">And one more favorite of mine that Trigg left off his list:</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">28. Eschew obfuscation!!&nbsp;</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Since the 1970s at least, lists of humorous rules for writing have circulated around schools, universities, and offices. The humor depends on each rule contradicting the very advice it gives, such as "Don't use no double negatives."</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">As Mark Israel's FAQ states, these were written up by William Safire under the name "Fumblerules," although there is at least one earlier published source of a similar list, by science editor George L. Trigg. Below, I give details about both of those sources, and quote the original articles in full.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Note that both Trigg and Safire credit others with having collected or contributed the rules they published. Although they helped in publicizing this catchy form, neither should be considered the originator.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">There are many, many variants of these lists on the World Wide Web. Some clearly began with one list or the other and added new ones as people thought of them. Others may have descended from the same "xeroxlore" that preceded both and circulated throughout campuses and offices in the 1970s. You can turn these up by searching on typical phrases like "don't use no double negatives" (which appears in both original articles) and "eschew obfuscation" (which appears in neither).</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">George L. Trigg "Grammar"</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">The following is the text of an article in the scientific journal Physics Review Letters, 19 March 1979 (Volume 42, Issue 12, pp. 747-748).</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Grammar</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">It is said that back in the 1940's, the following message was prominently displayed at the front of the main chemistry lecture hall at a major university:</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">"The English language is your most versatile scientific instrument. Learn to use it with precision."</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">In the intervening years, the teaching of proper grammar in the public elementary and high schools fell into disfavor. The inevitable result is that manuscripts submitted to us are often full of grammatical errors, which their authors probably do not even recognize (and often would not care about if they did).</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">We regard this state of affairs as deplorable, and we want to do something about it. For many years we have tried to correct the grammar of papers that we publish. This is toilsome at best, and sometimes entails rather substantial rephrasing. It would obviously be preferable to have authors use correct grammar in the first place. The problem is how to get them to do it.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">One fairly effective way is to provide examples of what not to do; it is particularly helpful if the examples are humorous. We have recently seen several lists of grammatical examples of this type. A few weeks ago we found taped to a colleague's office door the most complete one we have seen. (He tells us it was passed out in a class of Darthmouth - not in English - at the time a term paper was assigned). We reproduce it here in the hope that it will have some effect.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;1. Make sure each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;2. Just between you and I, the case of pronoun is important.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;3. Watch out for irregular verbs which have crope into English.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;4. Verbs has to agree in number with their subjects.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;5. Don't use no double negatives.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;6. Being bad grammar, a writer should not use dangling modifiers.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;7. Join clauses good like a conjunction should.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;8. A writer must be not shift your point of view.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp;9. About sentence fragments.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 10. Don't use run-on sentences you got to punctuate them.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 11. In letters essays and reports use commas to separate items in series.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 12. Don't use commas, which are not necessary.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 13. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 14. Its important to use apostrophes right in everybodys writing.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 15. Don't abbrev.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 16. Check to see if you any words out.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 17. In the case of a report, check to see that jargonwise, it's A-OK.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 18. As far as incomplete constructions, they are wrong.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 19. About repetition, the repetition of a word might be real effective repetition - take, for instance the repetition of Abraham Lincoln.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 20. In my opinion, I think that an author when he is writing should definitely not get into the habit of making use of too many unnecessary words that he does not really need in order to put his message across.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 21. Use parallel construction not only to be concise but also clarify.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 22. It behooves us all to avoid archaic expressions.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 23. Mixed metaphors are a pain in the neck and ought to be weeded out.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 24. Consult the dictionery to avoid mispelings.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 25. To ignorantly split an infinitive is a practice to religiously avoid.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; 26. Last but not least, lay off cliches.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">The above was taken from a reprint at&nbsp;</font><a href="http://lib.ru/ANEKDOTY/orfograf.txt"><font color="#0000ff" face="Verdana"><u>http://lib.ru/ANEKDOTY/orfograf.txt</u></font></a><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Publishing info at&nbsp;</font><a href="http://prola.aps.org/toc/PRL/v42/i12"><font color="#0000ff" face="Verdana"><u>http://prola.aps.org/toc/PRL/v42/i12</u></font></a><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">William Safire "Fumblerules"</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">In the same year, William Safire wrote at the end of his "On Language" column in the New York Times, on 7 October 1979:</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Query:</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">I am compiling "Ten Perverse Rules of English Grammar." Thanks to Philip Henderson of Lawrence, Kan., I have three. They are: (1) Remember to never split an infinitive. (2) A preposition is something never to end a sentence with. (3) The passive voice should never be used.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Any others along these lines?</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">He followed this up a month later, on 4 November 1979, with the following "On Language" column:</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">The Fumblerules of Grammar</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">Not long ago, I advertised for perverse rules of grammar, along the lines of "Remember to never split an infinitive" and "The passive voice should never be used." The notion of making a mistake while laying down rules ("Thimk," "We Never Make Misteaks") is highly unoriginal, and it turns out that English teachers have been circulating lists of fumblerules for years.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">As owner of the world's largest collection, and with thanks to scores of readers, let me pass along a bunch of these never-say-neverisms:</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana"><br></font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Don't use no double negatives.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Use the semicolon properly, always use it where it is appropriate; and never where it isn't.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it when its not needed.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Do not put statements in the negative form.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Verbs has to agree with their subjects.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * No sentence fragments.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Avoid commas, that are not necessary.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * A writer must not shift your point of view.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Eschew dialect, irregardless.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Hyphenate between sy-</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; llables and avoid un-necessary hyphens.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Write all adverbial forms correct.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Don't use contractions in formal writing.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * It is incumbent on us to avoid archaisms.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Steer clear of incorrect forms of verbs that have snuck in the language.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixed metaphors.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, resist hyperbole.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Don't string too many prepositional phrases together unless you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Always pick on the correct idiom.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * "Avoid overuse of 'quotation "marks."'"</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * The adverb always follows the verb.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#010100" face="Verdana">&nbsp; &nbsp; * Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives.</font></div>
+<div><font color="#0000ff" face="Verdana"><b>Note</b></font><font color="#0000ff" face="Verdana">:</font></div>
+<hr noshade size=3 color="#0000ff" >
+</font>
+</body></html>

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